Belton (Texas) tight end Durham Smythe. / Courtesy of Rivals.com

By Tim Sullivan

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

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Michigan’s coaching staff has reeled in two commitments over the past week-and-a-half, giving the Wolverines 26 in the 2013 recruiting class.

At this point, it is expected U-M will sign 28 prospects on National Signing Day Feb. 6. That leaves two openings.

One of those slots is surely reserved for Richmond (Va.) Hermitage 5-star running back Derrick Green. The No. 8 player in the country – and top running back, according to Rivals.com – plans to announce his college choice at 4 p.m. Jan. 26. The Wolverines are in good position and are hoping to beat out the likes of Tennessee and Auburn for his highly coveted signature.

That only brings Michigan to 27 total commits, however, and with room to go to 28, the coaching staff is exploring other options.

Michigan offered the 3-star tight end last February, but he committed to his home-state Texas Longhorns in March. He rescinded that pledge to Texas in December.

“I think a couple things happened,” he said of his Longhorns commitment. “When you get the UT offer in this area, everyone around expects you to go there. That had an impact on me for a while. At the beginning, I was excited, and that kind of started to wear off. I got the feeling that it wasn’t really right for me, and I decided to open it back up.”

Stanford, Michigan and Notre Dame now compose Smythe’s final three, and he recently rearranged his official visit schedule to fit in each school. He saw Stanford Jan. 11, and has switched his South Bend and Ann Arbor trips – he will now visit Michigan Feb. 1 and Notre Dame Jan. 25.

"No, not at this point," he said. "Notre Dame is just having most of their remaining targets in that weekend, so I thought I'd go with that group, and then head to Ann Arbor on the last weekend."

Though Stanford seems to have a slight edge at this point, the visits to Michigan and Notre Dame loom large. By the time Signing Day rolls around – on Feb. 6 – the Wolverines could have a 28th pledge.

Tim Sullivan is the Football Recruiting Editor of The Wolverine magazine and TheWolverine.com. He is also a contributor to national football recruiting coverage on the Rivals.com network. You can follow him on Twitter @TimS_Wolverine.